Other Accrued Expenses Other Accrued Expenses (Notes)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Accrued Liabilities and Other Liabilities [Abstract]

Other Income and Other Expense Disclosure [Text Block]

OTHER ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER LIABILITIES

Other Accrued Expenses. The following table presents the components of other accrued expenses as of:

	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
	(in thousands)
Employee benefits	$	12,480	$	21,611
Asset retirement obligations	30,350		32,200
Environmental expenses (1)	10,866		2,256
Operating and finance leases	9,602		5,926
Other	13,355		8,469
Other accrued expenses	$	76,653	$	70,462

(1) Amount includes $8.9 million of environmental liability assumed in the SRC Acquisition.

Other Liabilities. The following table presents the components of other liabilities as of:

	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
	(in thousands)
Production taxes	$	29,585	$	68,020
Deferred oil gathering credits	19,095		20,100
Deferred midstream gathering credits	173,006		175,897
Operating and finance leases	14,354		15,779
Other	2,655		3,337
Other liabilities	$	238,695	$	283,133

Deferred Oil Gathering Credits. In 2018, we entered into an agreement that dedicates crude oil from the majority of our Wattenberg Field acreage to the midstream provider's gathering lines and extends the term of the agreement through December 2029. The payment is being amortized over the life of the agreement. Amortization charges related to this deferred oil gathering credit totaling approximately $0.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $1.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, are included as a reduction to transportation, gathering and processing expenses.

Deferred Midstream Gathering Credits. In the second quarter of 2019, concurrent with the sale of our Delaware Basin midstream assets, we entered into agreements with the purchasers that dedicated the gathering of certain of our production and all water gathering and disposal volumes in the Delaware Basin. The terms of these agreements range from 10 to 22 years. The credits are being amortized on a units-of-production basis. The amortization rates are assessed on an annual basis for changes in estimated future production. Amortization charges included in crude oil sales totaled approximately $0.9 million and $1.7 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. Amortization charges included as a reduction to transportation, gathering and processing expenses totaled approximately $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. Amortization charges included as a reduction to lease operating expenses and capital costs totaled approximately $0.4 million and $0.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively. Amortization charges related to the deferred midstream gathering credits were not material for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.